Cavalry Flag 13th Century

Cavalry flags (estandartes) in the 13th century generally had religious images, something which also happened during the Hapsburg dynasty (1506-1700) and in many later flags up to nowadays.

During the Middle Ages there was an absolute lack of criteria for denominating flags as well as their shapes. Names such as seña, estandarte, pendón and confalón were used. In the 13th century, King Alphonse X tried to regulate the shapes and use of flags.

Cavalry Flag of Don Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz 1338-1350

image by Sergio Camero, 15 Mar 2002

This cavalry flag belonged to the Huestes (followers) of Don Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz (1338-1350). The original one can be seen in a miniature in the book Registrum Recognitiorum. The most usual colour in Castilian flags was red. In Aragon the kings used more frequently blue.

Moorish Guard of Henry IV of Castile 1454-1479

image by Santiago Dotor, 10 Jun 1999

Some days ago I wrote on the use of six-pointed stars by Moors under Spanish rule. This is the flag/pennant of the Moorish Guard of Henry IV of Castile (1454-1479), as it appears in Calvo and Grávalos 1983 [cag83].

Santiago Dotor, 25 Sep 1998

This Castilian king felt great predilection for Moorish usagee of the time, he dressed in Moorish style and ended up signing in Arabic characters. This Guard had an important paper in the actions against the Kingdom of Granada. The image in Calvo and Grávalos 1983 [cag83] is taken from the Count of Clonard, Album de la Caballería Española and Juan Priego López, Escoltas y Guardias Moras de los Jefes de Estado españoles.